World polity theory is explicitly relational, implying a global network structure that exists outside of the nation-state. And world polity theory increasingly acknowledges power--that some states and regions are dominant in the international field. But current world polity measures of international non-governmental organizations do not…

Social networking can currently be described as a mainstream youth activity, with almost half of 8-17-year-old children, who have access to the Internet, claiming to participate. As an activity it is of particular interest to literacy educators because it is enacted through the production and consumption of text. However, a growing body of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide examples of evaluating value-creating networks and to address the organizational issues and challenges of a network orientation. Design/methodology/approach: Value network analysis was first developed in 1993 and was adapted in 1997 for intangible asset management. It has been applied from shopfloor…

In this article, the author presents the top-10 list of campus computer-security risks he compiled based on several recent computing surveys and interviews with more than a dozen college-technology leaders. The list, ordered from least to most serious, is by no means scientific, but it gives a sense of where today's battle lines are--and why…

Educational visionaries and reformers have long predicted a significant transformation of teaching and learning that would be facilitated by technology, essentially providing every learner with the equivalent of a personal tutor. Technology implementations in education, however, have consistently fallen short of achieving these lofty aims. The…

With online social networking sites becoming some of the most visited destinations on the Web, organizations from all countries have been scurrying to establish their presence on sites like MySpace, Orkut, and MSN Spaces. In this arena, the social networking site Facebook has become the world's most popular social networking Web site. Through its…

Faculties at all levels of education continue to ask, "How does technology fit into my teaching?" How can I teach my students to become technologically literate?" For some, the answers seem quite simple. Technology should be integrated into as many levels of the curriculum as possible. If we aspire to prepare students for the…

Designing infrastructures to support instruction remains a challenge in educational reform. This article reports on a study of one school system's efforts to redesign its infrastructure for mathematics instruction by promoting teacher leadership. Using social network and interview data from 12 elementary schools, we explore how the district's…

This article describes the rationale for pedagogical, technological and organizational choices in the design of a web-based and open virtual learning environment (VLE) promoting and sustaining self-directed language learning. Based on the last forty years of research on learner autonomy at the CRAPEL according to Holec's definition (1988), we…

This study tried to ascertain a possible relationship between the number of student moderators (1, 2, and 3), online interactions, and critical thinking of K-12 educators enrolled in an online course that was taught from a constructivist approach. The course topic was use of technology in special education. Social network analysis (SNA) and…

The purpose of this exploratory investigation was to share the strengths, challenges, and tensions of using Facebook in an undergraduate nursing program. The observations presented have emerged from information shared by study participants and the professional insights of the three researcher-authors who represent perspectives from nursing,…

This paper explored informal (after-school) and formal (elective course in-school) learning contexts as contributors to middle-school student attitudinal changes in a guided discovery-based and blended e-learning program in which students designed web games and used social media and information resources for a full school year. Formality of the…

It is widely acknowledged that social conditions are directly associated with health and well-being. Significantly little is known about the impact of changing social conditions, including the transition to higher education, on young people's health and well-being. This qualitative research investigated perceptions and factors that influence…

This article describes the practice of postgraduate supervision on a blended professional development programme for academics, and discusses how connectivism has been a useful lens to explore a complex form of instruction. By examining the processes by which supervisors and their students on a two-year part-time masters in Applied eLearning…

The current study explores how integrating a social networking website called Facebook with peer feedback in groups supports student learning, investigates the nature of feedback students received on their writing, and examines their attitudes towards the use of Facebook for peer feedback. The study involves 30 undergraduate students who…